Vision 2030 urges for entrepreneurship policy reforms to reap long-term GES, US gains.

The Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat is calling for rapid enactment of regulations necessary to enable taking up of post-Barack Obama visit and Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) gains.

Policy reforms in entrepreneurship, said the Secretariat’s Ag.Director General Prof. Gituro Wainaina, will be key in capitalizing on the opportunities, ideas and resources created.

Speaking at a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with Start-Up Africa (SUA), Prof. Gituro said financial commitments for Kenyan start-ups by private sector companies around the world will require a conducive environment to be operational.

 “Policy reform to create an ease of doing business environment will determine whether aspiring entrepreneurs will be able to benefit from the long-term gains following President Obama’s and GES commitments,’ said Prof. Wainaina.

Start-Up Africa (SUA) seeks to equip youth in Kenya with innovative and empowering entrepreneurship and financial literacy education.

Tipping Kenya’s emerging tech entrepreneurs as future drivers of massive economic transformations, he urged for prioritizing of the tech sector as an ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’ that will stimulate economic transformation. 

“We need to develop entrepreneurship policy that will help such firms to succeed. It is more about removing obstacles to their growth such as anti-competitive cultures, unfair taxations, unnecessary red tape, lack of access to markets or investment capital,” said Prof.Wainaina.

Prof. Wainaina said the explosion in technology start-ups vindicates Vision 2030 inspiration to shift current industrial development path towards innovation where creation, adoption, adaptation and use of knowledge will be the key source of economic growth.

“These developments build credence to Kenya’s ‘Silicon Savannah’ signature, born from the Government’s Vision 2030’s goal to use ICT in cultivating a knowledge based economy,” said Wainaina.

Prof. Wainaina noted that there is need to formulate a mechanism for mobilization of capital and foreign direct investment.

Such a mechanism, said Prof.Wainaina would enable investors seeking to invest in Kenya and in local start-ups gain direct access to the country’s entrepreneurs and investment opportunities.

“We need to put our own house in order by mapping out existing investment opportunities, innovations, entrepreneurship opportunities and sources of capital to enable us package Kenya as an investment destination,” he said.

Over Kshs. 101 billion (USD 1 billion) was committed by US government and private sector  in capital funding to train, mentor and partner over 1 million entrepreneurs in Africa.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), The Department of State, USAID, IBM, International Finance Corporation, Caterpillar Inc and Goldman Sachs are part of the American institutions whose commitments will assist Kenya’s women and youth entrepreneurs.

African private sector commitments came from Chase Bank, KCB, Equity Bank, The Coca-Cola African Foundation and Mara Foundation among others.

The Global Entrepreneurship Network also pledged to launch a Kenyan office to support entrepreneurs and the development of a local ecosystem.

Youth entrepreneurship is a key strategy to solve youth unemployment in the country’s long term development blue print. The Youth and Women Enterprise and Development Funds preceded the current Uwezo Fund in financially benefitting the youth.

The Kenya Vision 2030 is the national long-term development blue-print that aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.